Quickly apply LUTs (color grading) with ffmpeg
The author explains how to quickly apply LUTs (color grading) to Log video footage using ffmpeg. Log footage retains the sensor's full dynamic range but appears as a muddy grey mess without grading. This post serves as a personal reference for a streamlined ffmpeg workflow to apply color LUTs.
Background
- **Log footage**: A "flat," low-contrast video format that preserves more detail in shadows and highlights, like a photographic negative. It looks washed-out until a color grade is applied.
- **LUT (Look-Up Table)**: A preset mathematical formula that transforms the flat Log footage into a viewable, color-graded result — effectively a one-click "filter" for correcting or stylizing video color.
- Why this matters: Most consumer video software handles Log footage poorly on its own. Applying a LUT in post‑production is the standard fix, but many users find the workflow cumbersome. This post shows a quick, free, command‑line‑based method using ffmpeg — a widely used open‑source multimedia tool — bypassing expensive editing software.
- **ffmpeg** is a powerful command‑line utility for processing audio and video, often used by developers and advanced users for tasks the typical GUI apps can't do or do slowly.